Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning: A Guide for Educators of Adults

This is an excellent read for adult educators that want a series of practical ideas and ways to enable transformation in adult education. To really get at the heart of transformation and its challenges. I suggest reading Paolo Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed and get a sense of the ideas of Liberation Theology and the context for Friere's 'dialogical man' before reading this text. The poltical commentary was hardly touched on in this book and engaging in social transformation without taking a poltical position needs deeper consideration because of the risks involved for the educator.

I found Cranton's work to be helpful, readable and credible. I recommend it to people who want to help themselves and others with transformative learning. If you want current thinking and practical advice, this is the book to read.

This newly revised and updated second edition of Understanding And Promoting Transformative Learning: A Guide For Educators by Patricia Cranton (Visiting Professor of Adult Education, The Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg, and Adjunct Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University) is a scholarly study of the transformative learning theory laid out for teachers of adult students in settings that range from night school to the college campus. Providing a complete mapping of transformative learning and supported with thorough discussion of how adult students are in fact transformative learners, Understanding And Promoting Transformative Learning offers a ready grasp of theoretical developments involved such issues as the role of imagination, spirituality, and the importance of connecting critical information in the midst of various transformations. An important addition to professional and academic library "Education Studies" reference collections, Understanding And Promoting Transformative Learning is very strongly recommended reading, an outstanding presentation of the cognitive learning procedures involved in the processes of transformative learning.

Book ReviewThe book, Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning by Patricia Cranton not only provides an in-depth account of transformative learning theory, but also offers the reader the opportunity to reflect on his or her own adult learning experiences. Cranton describes transformative learning as a three-step process, (a) subject-oriented, (b) consumer-oriented, (c) emancipatory. She compares these systems with Habermas and Mezirow who have also developed similar transformative learning theories. For example, Habermas defines transformative learning as, (a) technical, (b) practical, (c) emancipatory knowledge.Cranton's book is organized into ten chapters separated into two parts. Part one defines the transformative learning process; part two describes how the educator can apply transformative learning in the educational process. The book is prefaced by concerns, needs, purpose, and reader audience. Each chapter is summarized and contains information of the preceding chapters. A detailed reference section concludes the book. The organization of the book was extremely helpful to me, as I was able to build concepts within contextual reading.Researchers define adult education in different ways. Human characteristics are diverse, and it is not possible to generalize the adult learner. Therefore adult learning is classified within a larger system: positivism and constructivism. The former is subject-oriented; Habermas equates this learning to technical knowledge; Mezirow uses the term instrumental domain. Consumer-oriented learning is within the positivism and constructivism domains and hard to define. Habermas equates consumer-oriented learning to practical knowledge (interactive process of learning and individualized learning) and Mezirow to the communicative domain. Emancipatory learning belongs to the constructivist system as the learner becomes empowered often through a difficult process. Habermas and Mezirow call this level emancipatory as well. Mezirow adds a societal process to this learning domain.The following chapters describe transformative learning within its theoretical context. Mezirow stands out in his goal to determine the true meaning of emancipatory learning developed through critical self-reflection. He depicts various meaning perspectives (how do adults see the world). As the adult learner gains experiences, he or she creates personal and social meanings and interpretations of information. Mezirow divides the meaning perspectives into epistemic (knowledge), sociolinguistic (social perspective) and the psychological meaning perspective. As educators are planning programs for the adult learner, it is important to keep Mezirow's theory in mind, as he stresses the learner's perspectives and the practitioner's experiences with the learner. Although I have often through my own experiences come to assess knowledge and social perspectives while planning, Mezirow's definition and Cranton's explanation clarify quest

Cranton gives us great strategies for developing self-awareness as educators. We can become aware of our assumptions by trouble-shooting our own ideas with a suggested list from Cranton: write critical incidents (episodes in our own lives that created new perspectives), keeping journals, writing life histories, conducting criteria analysis, and engaging in a crisis-decision simulation. Cranton says discussions with colleagues and friends may be enough of an impetus for explicating assumptions. When we question the what, how and whys' we can become reflective practioners. The next step is integrating these assumptions into an informed theory of practice. Personal growth for the practioner and the adult learner is our goal. Cranton uses simple language to tell us what the needs of the adult learner are. Her book defines educators themselves as "transformative learners". Today's ideas of educators as facilitators is not just a trendy idea for Cranton. She gives us great ideas on how to revamp our teaching. We are exposed to the different types of adult learning. Cranton explains subject learning, consumer-oriented learning and emancipatory learning. As a fundamental goal of education, emancipatory learning defines the role of education in society. We see Cranton's name a lot in adult learning materials and she in considered an authority. You won't be disappointed with her matter-of-fact way of presenting information. She does not hoard information, she shares everything available to cover the topics at hand. In this "information age" Cranton is out there "fighting the war".